Watch swards to assess growth stage

“Of course temperature is also important, and where it’s been hovering around 20degC, we’ve had good growing conditions,” says Piers Badnell of DairyCo.

“This was in Dumfriesshire, which achieved 76kg DM/ha/day, while Shropshire recorded 64kg, and on the Shropshire-Powys border the figure was 52kg.

“Those farmers who received rain should definitely be thinking about applying more nitrogen now, although where it’s really dry, there’s scarcely any point.

“I’d urge anyone who hasn’t seen it to get a copy of the new (fertiliser manual) RB209, published this summer, as it’s infinitely better than the edition we had before (see facing page).

“The grass section is radically different. It’s a fantastic management tool and, unlike the previous edition, which took a broader brush approach, the new one looks more in depth into systems on farm, and recommendations are tailored accordingly.

“It’s not just about avoiding waste and pollution, it’s about applying the correct rates and getting the best return on your investment in fertiliser.”

Mr Badnell says that whatever the conditions and the speed of re-growth on your farm, it is important to allow grass to recover between successive grazings, which means watching the sward carefully to assess the stage of growth.

“This is best done by plate metering and counting leaves, and it’s essential to make rounds long enough to allow the grass to recover,” he says.

“This means waiting until the 2.5 to three-leaf stage, expecting rounds to be anything from 30 to 45 days, depending on weather conditions, and supplementing cattle to ensure this can happen.”

Dry matters

MEs this time have continued to be high despite some dry conditions, with an average of 11.9 and a range of 11.6 to 12.3 MJ/kg DM.

“As expected, dry matters have been more variable, ranging from 13.5 to 23.6 per cent, which will need to be taken account when estimating total dry matter intake potential,” says Mr Badnell.

“By piecing this information and other key parameters together, management can be fine-tuned to get the most from grazed grass.”

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